Burning Bright
by NYMeggi
Summary: This is just a short and fluffy Captain Swan one shot. Emma can't sleep and is finally decides to face the reason behind her insomnia face to face.


Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters belong to Disney and ABC, I'm just having some fun with them.

A/N: Any and all reviews and criticism are always welcomed. This was just an idea I had flitting around my head after all the Captain Swan goodness of the last few episodes. Plus, it is the month of fluff! Enjoy!

**Burning Bright**

Insomnia, oh how Emma hated it. It had been days since she had been able sleep. She stared into the fire, willing it to calm her mind. Meditation had never been her strong suit, though. She was much better with action. Still, she wouldn't be very active if she didn't get to sleep, especially before she took the next night watch. She was not going to be much protection if she couldn't react, which with her current level of exhaustion she couldn't rule out. She really couldn't be blamed for her inability to sleep, given her current circumstances. During the day she had no trouble focusing on the mission at hand, saving Henry. At night, in the quiet, she suddenly became aware of the noise around her that she was able to tune out during the day. It flooded her mind. Her mother's words came back to haunt her.

_Be careful with Hook and Neal. The fact that they both have feelings for you is dangerous too._

Her mother hadn't been kidding when she said it and it had turned out to be true. She had almost lost both of them and failed to save her son in Dark Hollow, all because of a juvenile fight over a lighter. Then again, as Hook had said, the lighter wasn't what they were fighting over. She looked around their little makeshift camp at her family sleeping by the fire, to include Neal. He looked peaceful in his sleep, although how he could sleep while their son was trapped with a 300 plus year old psycho kid bent on turning their son against them, she didn't know. It was weird having him back…again, this man that she would have given anything for once upon a time. Now, it was different. He had said he would never stop fighting for her, but when had he ever started? Emma had seen the expression on his face when he realized that she had magic. That wasn't the expression of a man who was going to fight until the end for her. That was a man who was wary and fearful, of her. She wasn't surprised that after that he gave up fighting for her yet again.

_Emma, I just wanted to say that you were right about Henry. He is all that matters and if he is the only thing that came from us being together, I'd say we did all right._

It should have hurt, but oddly it didn't. Maybe it was because it was nothing less than what she expected, or maybe it was because it was finally some closure. He had finally said and done what she needed. She needed to only worry about her son and doing whatever was necessary to get him back. She would not be like her parents, whom she had a sneaking suspicion from their renewed closeness, were planning on never leaving Never Land with her.

Her eyes strayed across the fire to the man who had taken first shift. Hook's eyes were resolutely fixed on the fire, much like hers had been before. He was a complex man and at times it was a little unnerving the way he was always there and always surprising her, well until a few days ago. She knew she had hurt him, but she didn't have time for their juvenile fighting. She needed to focus on finding Henry. Hook was not a distraction that she needed or wanted.

She took the opportunity to watch him unnoticed. He was a beautiful man. It seemed silly to think something like that, but she could think of no other word for him. His black hair was tousled as it always seemed to be and the fire danced across his blue eyes as he stared into the flames, lighting them. His expression seemed anything but light, though. She wished she could read his mind.

_OK, let me be very clear about something, if I had to choose someone, I choose Henry. He's the only love I have room for in my life._

He had been quiet since she had made her declaration. Her declaration that had caused Neal to set her free had done nothing other than close Hook off from her. She hadn't turned to see their reaction when she had first said the words, but later as they were all talking and planning together she felt the difference. The easiness that she had always felt with Hook was gone and his eyes no longer sought hers. That wasn't to say that he was being unhelpful, it was quite the opposite. He had shared what he knew of Skull Rock and he was willing to take lead if that was what was needed, but there was no more smile or flirting when he came close to her. He had barely even glanced at her. It really shouldn't bother her as much as it did, but for some reason she had come to depend on those encouraging looks and always having him there. Now, he was there, but at the same time he was separate. He sighed heavily as she watched him from beneath her lids.

"Is there something you're needing, Swan?" Swan, not "Love" as he used to call her. Emma felt a sharp pang at his words, missing his old endearments for her. He hadn't called her "Love" in days. Also, where was the clever quip about her enjoying the view? She was a bit surprised he had even noticed she was awake when he refused to look at her. She briefly considered feigning sleep, but had a feeling he would see right through that. She rolled to her back and stared up at the sky before finally answering.

"I can't sleep." She peeked across the fire again. This time he was scanning his surroundings rather than meeting her eyes.

"You have next watch. You should sleep."

"What are you my father? I said I can't sleep!" She whispered back in annoyance. She felt a warmth flow through her body and the fire jumped suddenly, burning a little bit brighter. Had she done that? She had his attention now. His eyes widened and he finally met her green eyes across the flames. His eyebrow raised in question. She had the same questions, but she wasn't even going to start trying to answer them right then. What the hell was that? The fire had been completely unconscious effort on her part, but at the same time it had done exactly what she had wanted. It was the second time that thoughts of Hook had brought out the fire in her.

"What _do_ you want then?" He didn't look annoyed, simply curious. She felt the distance between them acutely. Emma sighed and sat up, giving up on any thought of sleep. She looked at Hook trying to guess what he was thinking. Why couldn't her magic include the ability to read minds?

"I already told you, I want my son back."

"Yes, that you did." He settled back against the log and went back to staring into the fire, his face shuttered. She didn't know whether to cry or scream. This was ridiculous. He was doing exactly what she wanted, but instead of helping her focus it was driving her crazy. She hadn't realized how much she had come to depend on his encouragement and just being there. She had expected Neal to give it up pretty quickly, but for some reason she hadn't expected that from Hook. This was the man that had searched for 300 years to get revenge on the man who had killed his first love. He didn't seem like the type to give up, but then she seemed to have that effect on people. She hugged her knees to her chest in protection and then remembered she was stronger than that and straightened up. Her body burned in response to her strength and the fire jumped again as she demanded his attention.

"You're going to burn the camp down if you keep doing that." He said mildly and the fire jumped a little more in her anger. His breath drew in sharply as he split his gaze between her and the fire. Now she had his undivided attention. "Seriously, Emma."

"I thought you were better than them, Hook." Confusion clouded his blue eyes, before they darkened with a growing anger. "You're no different than any one of them." She spread her arms to encompass the entire camp around her as she stood up. Hook jumped up and stood in front of her catching her arm.

"What do you want from me, Swan? You said you only had enough love for Henry in your life right now!" The forms around them were starting to stir at the commotion. He brought his tone back down to a furious whisper. "I was giving you space, not that I had any say in it, but I thought that was what you wanted...What you needed."

"Space?" Emma froze. As her anger cooled in her confusion the flames dropped. Hook's eyes went to the fire in surprise and then back to her own. It was a little difficult to deny the effect he had on her when there was such physical proof.

"Yes, space." She saw when it finally dawned on him what she had just said. His annoyance melted into confusion and she saw his need and also his hesitation. "What did you mean by that, by what you just said?"

"I'm not sure…" She trailed off and his hand went from her arm to her face, keeping her from looking away.

"What were you talking about, Emma?" It was difficult to evade when he was standing there looking at her like that. His blue eyes held a fair amount of wariness and something else…something she hadn't seen much of in quite some time. She had almost forgotten what it looked like. Hope. She saw it growing in him and suddenly she smiled, something she only seemed to do when he was around. He sounded so unsure, it was hard not to reassure him. "What did you mean when you said you thought I was better than them?"

"You…" She searched for the right words, unsure what exactly what she was ready to say. "They…" She trailed off again.

"Yes?" She let her hair fall in front of her face and he brushed it away impatiently and raised her chin gently so she couldn't hide from him. She was so used to evading him and avoiding just this, but they were on the brink of finding and saving Henry. He had believed that she would from the very beginning and maybe she owed him this for everything he had done for her. She owed him the truth and maybe it was time for her to face it as well.

"Since you came back for us…well, you've always been there. You've always helped and you didn't have to. You're the one person that…" This time she pulled away. She needed space to say this. She took up his spot by the fire with her back against the log. She wasn't surprised when she felt him drop down beside her, but she noticed that this time he was careful not to touch her. Even now he was still trying to do what she wanted, what she needed. She stared determinedly straight ahead. She wasn't used to this, this sharing of herself. "You're the one person is always there for me and the only one that has never left me. You're a good man…..Killian."

She turned and met his eyes as she said his name and she caught the way his breath hitched at the sound of his own name coming from her lips. His face was completely open in that moment and he let her see everything in him. She saw his feelings for her. She saw his wonder at being called a good man. She had a feeling if she had asked him to go slay a dragon for her, he would have. She felt suddenly as if she were the only woman on Earth, and she had a sneaking suspicion she was for him right then. It was a heady feeling and a little scary. His hand raised as if to reach for her and then dropped, like he had remembered he was trying to give her space.

"You've never called me that before, Love."

"No, I don't think I have." Her heart caught at the way he reverted to his old endearment before suddenly feeling as if it were going to beat its way out of her chest. He shook his head slowly and smiled at her and the sweetness of it took her breath away.

"I'll take your shift. You really do need the sleep. Tomorrow we're going to get your son back." As always, his absolute faith in her shook Emma to the core. His eyes shifted to the flames again and his eyebrow raised in the old way she had missed over the past few days. "The fire's getting a bit low, think you can stoke it a bit before you go to bed, Love?"

She bit back a laugh and shook her head at him with a smile, glad to see him back to his old innuendos. Emma turned to the fire and this time it took almost no effort to make the flames jump and dance higher. The warmth was becoming familiar with him around. He moved as if to help her up and instead of getting up she moved closer to him and curled into his side. She was pretty sure that his breathing stopped, which was funny because hers seemed to be doing the opposite and her heart was racing at their closeness. He started breathing again and slipped his arm around her, pulling her into his side even closer.

"The ground was pretty uncomfortable over there. I think I'll just stay here and make myself comfortable if you don't mind." She snuggled into his side, enjoying the warmth of him and tried not to think too much about what she was doing. Henry was her focus, but she needed this right now. She didn't need to keep fighting herself as well as Pan. It just distracted her more.

She looked up into his face and it was an open book to her again. As always he was giving her exactly what she needed. He inclined his head slightly and she felt herself fall a tiny little bit at his next words.

"As you wish." She was instantly transported back to the last time that he had used those exact words. How could she not also think of the _Princess Bride_? He might not know the reference, but she certainly did. A one-time thing, sure, like she had ever believed that. She reached up and gently touched his face, bringing his lips down and grazing them lightly with her own. This wasn't like the last kiss that had burned in its intensity. She still felt the fire inside her, but this time it felt warm, like coming home. This was something sweeter and more innocent, if that was even possible with this man. She felt his breath on her lips as she leaned her forehead against his, her hair creating a curtain around them. She finally pulled back and curled her hand into his chest, feeling his heartbeat, which was anything but steady now. She leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled again.

"Good night, Emma." He stroked her golden hair slowly with his good hand and she finally felt herself relax. She was ready. Tomorrow they would get Henry and get back to Story Brook and then, that's when the fun begins. She had no idea what that meant, but she shivered slightly at the thought. Maybe she was finally ready to find out.

"Good night, Killian."


End file.
